B.C. couple visit grandkids in Peru amid fears for safety

A B.C. couple worried about their grandchildren after the man accused of murdering their mother was released from jail were able to visit with the kids in Peru.

Earlier this month, Al and Kathy Kasatkin travelled to South America to see their two grandchildren, ages five and eight, after they were unable to make contact with them by phone. The children are living with their paternal grandmother as their father, Christopher Franz Bettocchi, faces charges of femicide in relation to the death of Al’s daughter, Kimberlee Kasatkin.

On Saturday, Kathy said Al was allowed to visit the kids, but she was prevented from seeing them. The couple has asked the Peruvian court to allow Kathy to visit as well.

“Al did see them. They are there. They are safe,” said Kathy.

The Kasatkins feared the children might have left the country with their father after receiving a tip from someone in Peru. They flew to Peru in early November to check on the kids. They did not see Bettocchi on their trip.

The Abbotsford couple has been to Peru several times since Kimberlee went missing in November 2016. The 41-year-old mother of two was born and raised in B.C. but moved to Peru about four years ago with her common-law partner, Bettocchi. The couple met while he was studying at a college on Vancouver Island.

The Kasatkins became suspicious when Kimberlee abruptly stopped making daily phone calls to her sister in B.C. Bettocchi told them she had abandoned her young family, including their kids, who were three and six at the time.

The couple reported their daughter’s disappearance to local police and set off for South America, where they spent six weeks chasing leads and asking police and prosecutors to take the case seriously.

In February 2017, Bettocchi was arrested and charged with femicide, the murder of a woman. He has since been released from jail while awaiting trial.

The case has drawn intense scrutiny from Peruvian media, which aired leaked security-camera footage showing a man believed to be Bettocchi dragging a large bag from an elevator to a vehicle in the parkade of their home in Miraflores, an upscale district of Lima. It also aired an undated home video showing a bruised Kasatkin accusing her partner of assaulting her.

The Kasatkin family has learned that on Monday Peruvian prosecutors plan to ask for a court order preventing Bettocchi from leaving the country.